So one thing that is pretty tricky about being in Peace Corps: keeping up on life that happens outside of village. While the rumor mill grinds really big news to even the most distant of volunteers, and BBC does a terrific job with international news, there is a gap. And that’s where Wait, Wait, Don’t [...]
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So I am a proud member of the food security here in Burkina Faso. I wrote an article on how to dry food. Drying food is a terrific way to save food without destroying all the good stuff. It is good here because, for example, right now we only have fresh mangoes. Everything is dried. [...]
I have lost track of my village husbands. There is the old family chief that always has his wives bring me dolo. There is the guy that grills sheep internal organs on an old metal door. There is my tantie’s uncle. To all my husbands I have forgotten, my apologies. The most elaborate of these [...]
Goodnight moon (kiougou). Goodnight tantie, goodnight Madame. Goodnight guinea fowls, donkeys and chickens. Goodnight cat. Goodnight dust. Goodnight sand. Goodnight wind and clouds. Goodnight sweat and damp pillow. Goodnight squeaky door and sandy floor. Good night cat. I said goodnight. Goodnight tô spoon, calabash, and plastic kettle. Goodnight plastic cot. Goodnight pagne sheets. Goodnight complets. [...]
For those of you who have been following the Burkinabe news, there were a couple hiccups in the school year. Because of this, spring break sprung a little early and it was a scramble to get somewhere new in country. A few of gathered in Banfora. It was perfect. Seeing everybody that was there was [...]
So the ritzy part of Ouaga is called Ouaga Deux Mille (2000). Here is my story how my quartier was transformed and earned the nickname village deux mille. One very hot Thursday afternoon, I was in my French tutoring session with one of the ladies in my courtyard. She is the French teacher and very [...]
On International Women’s Day (March 8th, 2011), as a member of the Food Security Committee I went to the Farmer Training Center (FTC) for a conference by Compatible Technology International (CTI). See the story at http://www.pcburkina.org/content/cti-conference-food-transformation.
So as a Peace Corps volunteer, I have two very terrific people on my side: the PCMOs, or Peace Corps Medical Officers. If you are even a little bit sick, they help you out, make sure you have access to medical care, and answer stupid questions while reassuring you that they are not stupid questions. [...]
1) Always sharing your food 2) Offering water when they arrive 3) Having clothes made out of matching pagne 4) Never letting a friend walk through marche sans dolo 5) Giving cadeau in marche 6) Never letting them sit on the ground / always giving the chair, mat, stool, rock…. 7) Giving a morceau of [...]
I spent my first birthday here in Burkina. Thankfully, a little Betty Crocker cake mix goes a long way. I made about 6 shallow cake pans (baked in my metal serving plates) in my dutch oven. I opened my couple care package gifts (birds of Detroit book sweet!) and frosted the cakes. Usually, if I [...]
For New years Sara and I went to visit our host family. At the end of stage they promised they threw a mean party on the 31st. And after living with them for a month, we believed them. I arrived in town after a day of travelling. Bike, bush taxi and bus. Never said it [...]
For New years’s Sara and I went to visit our host family. At the end of stage they promised they threw a mean party on the 31st. And after living with them for a month, we believed them. I arrived in town after a day of travelling. Bike, bush taxi and bus. Never said it [...]
Sorry these next couple of are delayed. Some technical difficulties. _____________________________ Christmas has come and gone with it’s mass, pageant and celebrations. So what did I do, you ask. Good question. I shall tell you. It started out on Christmas Eve. In the morning I hung out with a bunch of the women who were [...]
At the end of October my friend in village, Lamoussa, got married. It was the traditional marriage, not a legal one, and thus typically called the engagement ceremony. I had to give a math devoir early in the morning (7-8) and afterwards I went home to grab a change of clothes for the ceremony and [...]
So this past week I was in Bobo-Dioulasso for the 50th anniversary of this fine country. The actual date of independence is in August, but, hey that’s rainy season and people are busy. There is planting and cultivating and in general a lot of work to do. In practicality, the 11th of december is the [...]
The end of the trimester is upon us!! What does that mean?? For the school year, it is broken into three bits. The first bit was October until the end December. But because I have an event for the anniversary of Burkina Faso (50 years of independence) and a little mini training at the capital, [...]
So I was headed to Ouaga today. I got up at 530, heated some water for my bucket bath as it was a bit chilly to be bathing out of doors, and went to school. While there, I went over the correct answers to the pop quiz I gave yesterday to my 6eme math kids [...]
When speaking of popular music here in Burkina, you speak of FloBy (pronounced like the vacuum hair buzzers), Sean Paul, and invariably, Celine Dion. Yes, her songs, both english and french, are popular here. While computers and mp3 players a bit cher (expensive), phones with moderate mp3 capabilities are a little more in reach. Thus, [...]
I’m now in village. So I have a new mailing address for letters. Please use this address for letters only. Help me break in my new address by sending me a letter! Kathryn Siuniak B.P. 27 Zorgho, Burkina Faso Africa Use this address for everthing else Kathryn Siuniak, PCV S/c Corps de la Paix 01 [...]
What is Kathryn Doing Next? So some of you may be wondering what exactly I have been up to and what is happening next. I have been going around Burkina, staying with families, visiting my site, and going through a very extensive, exhausting training. It really has been great meeting all of these new stagaiars [...]
My name is Kathryn. I Want Beans Believe it or not, that is one of the first phrases that I learned in my mini survival Mooré class. And it comes in handy more often than you might think. Whoa hold on a second, what is Mooré? Well I’m glad you asked!! While French may be [...]
And I am really slow on this french keyboard. So here you go. Ps thanks for the mail Dr M, Mom and Dad, Amanda, and Todd!! If you want your name up here for all the world to see how awesome you are, send me a line. Cheers
Hey I know it has been a really long time, but get ready for it to be a long break. I got my site a few weeks ago, and last week I was visiting there. My site is near Ouaga, but there is no electricity there, let alone internet. And when I go to site [...]
So I found my thermometer the other day, and I realized how hot it actually was. Even though it’s the reainy season and it is like90 at night, it usually doesn’t feel that bad. You just get used to sweating. A lot. And now I sleep outside, but it’s hard with the whole family out [...]
So this is the first free time that I have since I left for the airport on the 7th. A few more notes on what has happened since I left. Sorry if there are any repeats, it takes to long for the pages to load to actually double check stuff. So my host family is [...]
So it has been one week since I have been in Burkina. Quite a lot has happened. It is hard to even process because so much of it is new and exciting but I cannot record everything . Nor would you want me to. So I zill put in a few fun stories from the week [...]
Our first night in Ouagadougou it rained: It is a sign of good luck in West Africa so it was very nice: It also made it easier to sleep The first few days were in Ouaga and filled with shots and the basics: We then came here to Ouahigouya and our first few nights [...]
Yeah, it’s late. Of course everything came down to the last night. One last pack. One last lightening of my bags. Laundry (thanks Mom). Paperwork (thanks Dad). Copy. Check. Repeat. And let’s not forget Amanda…. It’s been a busy last few days. Goodbye, my Ann Arbor friends. Bdubs and Charley’s was a classic end. Goodbye, [...]
Less than one week! My luggage is currently at 60 lbs, which is 20 lbs under! That’s exciting. I keep trying to ask myself, will bringing this make life easier or more complicated. Conclusion: laptop, more complicated. Extra mosquito net and bandannas: less complicated. Et cetera. So I know what you’re thinking. Kathryn, will you have [...]
Sooo nothing terribly new to share. Pretty much through ordering things and packing is in full force. The neatest thing is definitely the shortwave radio. It picks up all sorts of neat stations. Just very few in French at night, so it hasn’t been very useful in helping me… It’s still hard to believe that [...]
So last Saturday was my graduation from undergrad. I’m now officially an engineer. It was a long weekend, but so memorable. First, was the chemical engineering banquet. It was neat to hear all the great things my classmates did over four years and what they are headed off to. Saturday was the big day. I [...]
Today is my last day of class. Weird…
I see all those high school seniors on the buses with their parents getting one last tour of campus before they sign up for classes and move in. It’s strange to think that 4 years ago that was me. And still a bit surprised I have masted said [...]
Whoa. 2 months. This is crazy. I had to update my PC password because the old one expired. Happy anniversary, I guess. One year later, I’m trying to figure out if I really need to bring that extra mosquito net, price hunting durable sandals, and wrapping my mind around packing 80 lbs and 2 years [...]
This past week I had just a few things to take care of for Peace Corps, including my visa application, PC passport, and write my essays. The essays are my introduction to the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, so those took a bit to polish up.
On a side note, it was a busy but awesome [...]
Not the most thrilling post, but I thought I’d put it in writing. I just officially accepted the invite to Burkina. Now, I just need to start trucking through the paperwork. There are essays, visas, passport applications, student loans, and travel stuff to settle out. It’s exciting to think it’s official, but there’s is still [...]
After a long week of waiting, many inches of snow, and just hours to arrive before I left for spring break, the invite arrived! My roommate texted me the long awaited invite package had arrived while I was in lab. My sister kindly drove it up to me before she left town. With Mom and [...]
After 11 month of applying, I received a call yesterday! I have been invited to serve in the Peace Corps. Nervous to start one of these before I was invited (though I did find other applicants’ blogs very helpful), I feel like I can officially start one.
In true tradition, I will include my application timeline.
March [...]
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